Not sure how playing mountain golf or getting an ace will help his score go down and his rating go up in tournaments. I am not sure that half of the people in this thread understood the man's problem. It is based on tournament play and how to do better in them - not a general disc golf depression but a very specific one.

ďI believe I can hit 18 greens, hit every fairway, you know ó Vision 54, which means you birdie every hole, thatís in the back of my mind. I want to putt better, chip better. That day when I hit 18 greens and one putt, Iíll know Iím a complete golfer. Will that ever happen? Iím not sure, but itís possible. The 54 vision is always in the back of my mind.Ē~Annika SŲrenstam

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I have no advice for you. Well, perhaps to play with different scoring methods during casual play, like skins, wolf, match, etc. That shakes things up a bit sometimes, makes you change your strategy a little.

The only thing miraculous about ICP is the fact that their children look like them...

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A lot of good advice on here and thanks to all. Last weekend I had a plan going in to the Eugene Celebration, and talked to the Coach a few days before the tournament. Play within my skills, pick each hole apart, make smart plays. Did I execute? No! I've resigned myself to the fact that I enjoy playing disc golf too much. How can that be a problem? I get out there with the other guys on the card and after a couple of holes, I'm having a casual round of golf, and just enjoying being on the course with a group of great people. I start throwing without thought to how better could I be doing this. I know my throw can get me to within putting distance so I take the chance. Usually end up demonstating my skills at getting out of an awkward position and ending up with a four or five. In retrospect the smart play would be to place my shot and go for three. When I knew I couldn't make the longer or trickier throw, I had no choice but to place my shots. I do think that with time and practice the shots will fall. I do refuse however to stop loving to play disc golf. If you play on the last card and you are playing with me, one thing is guaranteed...........we suck........but we are going to enjoy it.

Again, thanks for the input!
Bob

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I've kind of gone through the same thing...my solution to keep having fun was to cut back on the tournament golf. I've only played a handful of tourneys this year, and only a few of them sanctioned. I played piss-poor at the sanctioned tourneys, and as a result, had less fun. And then the poor tourney play would carry over to my casual play, and the discing experience as a whole wasn't so fun anymore.

Pretty much now, I almost never keep score when I play, so don't care so much about missing 4 footers with my bag on, find it easier to laugh at 50 ft. roll aways, and can go for the low percentage shots with reckless abandon. As a result, I usually have more fun.

So, if tournament play is bringing you down, don't play in tourneys. If you don't want to go to the extremes of not caring about score, don't worry about your score compared to others', just always try to beat your record (that's how I spent the first 4 years of playing). If you still want to play tournaments, just stick to non-sanctioned ones--if you don't do well there, there aren't really repercussions later on for it. As it happens though, I've tended to do far better in non-sanctioned tournaments than sanctioned ones. (stupid self imposed head games).

Basically though, do whatever it does that keeps you having fun in the game. Some people thrive on competition--I'm not one of them. I more like being outdoors with friends, and watching cool shots, so that's what I try to focus on these days.

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Every practice round - simulate a live tournament round as closely as possible. Also a big help in the last year or so for me.

ďI believe I can hit 18 greens, hit every fairway, you know ó Vision 54, which means you birdie every hole, thatís in the back of my mind. I want to putt better, chip better. That day when I hit 18 greens and one putt, Iíll know Iím a complete golfer. Will that ever happen? Iím not sure, but itís possible. The 54 vision is always in the back of my mind.Ē~Annika SŲrenstam

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I've resigned myself to the fact that I enjoy playing disc golf too much. How can that be a problem? I get out there with the other guys on the card and after a couple of holes, I'm having a casual round of golf, and just enjoying being on the course with a group of great people. I start throwing without thought to how better could I be doing this.

Consider yourself lucky. I have the oppsosite problem - I treat every round as if it's a tournament round. That might be fine and dandy for the mental aspect of it, but it tends to be a major buzzkill.

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Not sure how playing mountain golf or getting an ace will help his score go down and his rating go up in tournaments. I am not sure that half of the people in this thread understood the man's problem. It is based on tournament play and how to do better in them - not a general disc golf depression but a very specific one.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed that. The real problem is a lack of Omega-3 fatty acids.

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1) Practice putting correctly by building a routine and a mental routine.
2) Practice approaching short, on the basket, and long with your most accurate approach disc
3) Practice driving straight with no distance expectation just the best straight you can throw
4) Expect to go backward before you go forward.
5) Be impossible to crack mentally.
6) Never stop focusing on the fun, but always focus on winning
7) Play your practice rounds with players you like to play with

I am finally seeing some improvement in my tournament play after alot of hard work. It has been slow. Not everyone is a Brice or an Ebee. Those guys have talent oozing out of their pores and they work hard. Fairways and Greens are the key.

Training to be a bagger

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A lot of good advice on here and thanks to all. Last weekend I had a plan going in to the Eugene Celebration, and talked to the Coach a few days before the tournament. Play within my skills, pick each hole apart, make smart plays. Did I execute? No! I've resigned myself to the fact that I enjoy playing disc golf too much. How can that be a problem? I get out there with the other guys on the card and after a couple of holes, I'm having a casual round of golf, and just enjoying being on the course with a group of great people. I start throwing without thought to how better could I be doing this. I know my throw can get me to within putting distance so I take the chance. Usually end up demonstating my skills at getting out of an awkward position and ending up with a four or five. In retrospect the smart play would be to place my shot and go for three. When I knew I couldn't make the longer or trickier throw, I had no choice but to place my shots. I do think that with time and practice the shots will fall. I do refuse however to stop loving to play disc golf. If you play on the last card and you are playing with me, one thing is guaranteed...........we suck........but we are going to enjoy it.

Again, thanks for the input!
Bob

FIRE YOUR CADDY!
It's just a thought and I've never met you Bob and maybe I'm joking a bit but if you were a ball golfer and I read that post that's what I'd say! Do you know some one that you trust that could accompany you, advise on shot/disc selection, and keep your head on the mission/goal? It sounds like the goal is improved PDGA ratings and to my way of thinking a good caddy could help to achieve that goal.

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FIRE YOUR CADDY!
It's just a thought and I've never met you Bob and maybe I'm joking a bit but if you were a ball golfer and I read that post that's what I'd say! Do you know some one that you trust that could accompany you, advise on shot/disc selection, and keep your head on the mission/goal? It sounds like the goal is improved PDGA ratings and to my way of thinking a good caddy could help to achieve that goal.

Hmmmmm! Sam DOES owe me!

Bob

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OTH Bob, im not a Dr, but ive seen a few, and i am disc-aholic. So here's my advise.
Divide you game into three categorize. drives, approach shots and the most important putts. Once one part of you game improves, it bleeds over to more confidence in the other two parts! Since your in the G master division maybe hit putts and approach's until they are you best they can be . You drives should show improvements (if only for a few of your go to shots i.e. backhand, sidearm, whatever your style is).
I play with a 62 yr old friend, Jack, that has improved his game a lot over the last 2 years. His upshots( thumber is his got to shot) put him into positions were he has a good chance of making putts. And his putting is improving.
Good throwing. Putt hard and fast! TW

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The other factor to consider is WHERE you are playing tournaments... For top players who have the skill sets to shoot par on every course they face, ratings are quite accurate and perdictable. However, there are a good number of courses that produce below average ratings for people with less distance. Translation, you may have picked some new courses to play tournaments at this year that hurt your ratings.

We all have our ups and downs, I think you've already found the best solution. The love of the game will sustain you much longer than any success could.